House Votes Down Senate-Penned Budget
Pa. One Of Three States Yet To Pass Budgets
HARRISBURG, Pa. - A vote in the state House means it's now likely that a committee of legislative leaders will resolve Pennsylvania's three-week-old budget stalemate.
The Democratic-controlled House voted 150 to 49 on Tuesday to reject a Republican-penned state budget and send it back to the state Senate.
The move is designed to bring the process closer to appointment of a conference committee that would negotiate a budget for the fiscal year that started July 1.
Democratic leaders favor a $29.1 billion proposal that combines cuts with new and expanded taxes. But that would be $2 billion more than the austerity budget the Senate approved with a single Democratic vote.
Pennsylvania is one of three states that haven't been able to pass budgets for the new fiscal year.
